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APD deputy chief: Repeat offenders being released as crime spikes in neighborhoods

By:
Matt Johnson

Updated: Jan 31, 2019 - 4:06 PM

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APD deputy chief: Repeat offenders being released as crime spikes in neighborhoods

ATLANTA - Atlanta's police chief says her department will not be a "pawn in political shenanigans."

On Tuesday night, Channel 2 Action News told you that former city council member Mary Norwood hand-delivered a letter demanding action on increasing crime.

Channel 2's Matt Johnson broke the story and learned the department is pointing the finger at local judges who keep releasing repeat offenders.

"Buckhead is under a crime increase that is dramatic and it is concerning and I want everyone in the administration to know that and that begins with Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms," Norwood told Johnson.

While the letter was addressed to the mayor, Atlanta police Chief Erika Shields felt compelled to respond and defend her department.

"We're better than this.This city's better than this. But more than anything else, if not for me, for the men and the women who go out there every day and risk their lives: Stop with this foolishness," she said.